The Endless Pit of Exhaustion
Have you ever felt like no matter how much rest you get, you still feel endlessly tired? Exhausted? Totally and completely running on empty? You may have been experiencing burnout. Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion that’s often caused by chronic and excessive stress. As you experience continued stress in your life, it becomes harder and harder to find any motivation that you once had. Burnout drastically reduces productivity and leaves you feeling deprived of energy. Eventually, you may start to feel like you have nothing more to give.
Burnout is commonly caused by a combination of a few factors. Maybe your biggest stress is work. Maybe your biggest stress falls in aspects of your personal life. Whatever area of life you are feeling stressed by, burnout can show up in any one of them. Burnout is often seen in workplaces. High-stress jobs such as healthcare, law enforcement, or corporate settings could lead to a state of burnout. Burnout can also commonly be found in the home, such as those who take on caregiving roles or have too many household responsibilities. Students in school often face burnout from high academic pressures and the difficulty of balancing work and personal life.
Wherever your burnout comes from, Centered Recovery is well-equipped to get you back on the path toward a balanced and healthy life! Let’s take a few minutes to dive into the concept of burnout and its risks to your daily life.
Recognizing the Signs of Burnout
Signs of burnout can appear in many ways. Whether that is emotional symptoms, physical symptoms, or behavioral indicators, we must catch these signs and do what we can to reduce them. Let’s explore what burnout can look like in these different areas.
Emotional Symptoms
- Feelings of Detachment
- Cynicism
- Irritability
- Loss of Motivation
- Feeling Overwhelmed
Physical Symptoms
- Chronic Fatigue
- Headaches
- Changes in Sleep Patterns
- Muscle Tension
- Changes in Appetite
Behavioral Indicators
- Decreased Performance
- Withdrawal from Responsibilities
- Neglect of Personal Needs
- Isolation
- Procrastination
The Impact of Burnout on Mental Health
Burnout, when not addressed, can lead to a significant decrease in mental health. Chronic stress caused by burnout can lead to anxiety and depression. When you are exposed to high levels of stress for a long enough time, not only does it take a toll on your mental well-being, but it can also cause physical symptoms. Physical symptoms may include an increase in heart rate, increase in sweating, feelings of nervousness, etc. All of these symptoms are associated with anxiety disorders, which can be caused by chronic stress from burnout.
Burnout can cause a sense of complete emotional exhaustion. This can then become a feeling of persistent sadness, which is a key symptom of depression. When we feel burnout, it can leave us feeling hopeless and helpless, and we feel like our situation is never going to get better. This, too, is a common symptom of depression.
While periods of burnout may leave us feeling more anxious or depressed, longer episodes can lead to long-term mental health conditions. Chronic stress from burnout may become larger as a generalized anxiety disorder. Continuous and constant stress may lead some to experience panic attacks. If symptoms of burnout include feelings of depression, if not treated, this could turn into a major depressive disorder diagnosis.
For many, to cope with the stress and pain of burnout, it’s not uncommon to turn to alcohol or drugs that may lead to substance use disorders. In this next section, we’ll discuss the risk of addiction in cases of burnout.
Burnout and the Risk of Addiction
Like we saw before, coping with alcohol or drugs is, unfortunately, not rare. Coping in this way as a means of self-medicating can lead to a dangerous cycle, and eventually, addiction. For many, using substances can feel like a sort of “emotional numbing”. When we feel numb, it feels like we get a break from whatever emotional pain we are dealing with. In the case of burnout, emotional numbing provides temporary relief from our feelings of detachment and exhaustion. When we use substances, we may get a momentary wave of relief, which can make things feel easier to cope with in the short term. However! The danger here is that this short-term coping may lead to long-term dependency.
How Addiction Stems From Burnout
The relationship between substance addiction and burnout is cyclical, and both make the other worse. How does addiction exacerbate burnout symptoms? Let’s explore that.
- Substance use can lead to a significant increase in stress and anxiety, which is often already present in someone experiencing burnout.
- Substance use and addiction can lead to a decline in overall physical health, which can bring on more intense physical symptoms of burnout such as headaches and never-ending fatigue.
- Those experiencing burnout often feel low and hopeless, and the shame that frequently comes with addiction can make this feeling more intense.
Because this relationship is cyclical, let’s look at how burnout can exacerbate addiction symptoms.
- As burnout symptoms continue to rise, substance use may also increase as a means to cope. Over time, this can lead to higher levels of dependency.
- Exhaustion from burnout may make it harder to resist cravings and replace substances for more healthy coping mechanisms.
Burnout and addiction feed into each other, and it’s important to find healthy ways of coping before the cycle becomes overwhelming. Recognizing the signs of burnout and substance use is vital to begin to break this cycle.
Strategies for Managing and Preventing Burnout
Prioritize Self-Care
- The Importance of Rest: Sleep is vital for our well-being. Ideally, we should all get 7-9 hours of sleep each night. If this isn’t possible, taking breaks during the day is important to prioritize moments of rest and relaxation.
- The Importance of Nutrition: When our diet is out of balance, all parts of our well-being suffer. Our bodies aren’t at our best, and our minds certainly aren’t either. Proper nutrition and hydration are crucial to our overall health and energy levels.
- The Importance of Exercise: We don’t all need to be marathon runners to be considered healthy. Movement as easy as walking during breaks, stretching in your office, or opting for the stairs rather than the elevator is great! Any movement that feels good for your body is helpful for us.
Set Boundaries
- Work-Life Balance: This is vital! Work to set specific work hours, and avoid any work-related tasks when outside of these hours. While this is easier said than done, disconnecting from work when you leave can have a tremendous impact on your mental health.
- Time Management: Another concept that is much easier said than done! However, prioritizing tasks and delegating tasks when possible can make all the world of difference. Break down overwhelming tasks into smaller, easier-to-complete steps.
- Personal Boundaries: Work to protect your peace, in whatever way you need! Learning to say no is one of the best ways you can do this. If you can realistically take it on, go for it! If not, it’s okay to say no. Find a place where you can retreat to unwind and rest. Go to this place often!
When to Seek Professional Help
Does any of this sound like what you’re going through? It might be time to seek professional help. Whether you are just entering a season of burnout and why prevent it from getting harder, or you’re in the trenches of burnout, seeking help can always be beneficial. However, if your symptoms are persistent and impacting your ability to function well daily, a mental health professional can offer you support and helpful tools.
How Centered Recovery Programs Can Help with Burnout
Whether you are struggling with symptoms of burnout or substance use, Centered Recovery can help! At Centered, we utilize holistic methods to improve mental, emotional, and physical functioning through the use of mindfulness-based practices. Here, you will be exposed to various practices such as meditation, sound therapy, art therapy, breathwork, yoga, and more!
We utilize a mindfulness-based program, which has been proven to provide lasting results for recovery. Mindfulness-based therapies focus on teaching skills that allow you to be more aware of the present moment. Additionally, these techniques serve to help you feel more acceptance towards experiences you have encountered. The goal of mindfulness-based therapies is to foster a non-judgemental attitude towards thoughts, emotions, or sensations you may be feeling and experiencing. There is a body of research that supports the use of mindfulness-based techniques, as it has been shown to have a significant impact on overall wellbeing.
Contact Centered Recovery Programs Today
Now that you know all about our guided program for recovery, contact us to get started! Whether you’re struggling with feelings of burnout or substance use, we can help! Centered Recovery Programs, located in the heart of Roswell, Georgia, is a mindfulness-based outpatient drug and alcohol rehab treatment program. When choosing the best drug and alcohol treatment program, keeping all these different aspects in mind is essential. Our staff will always tailor your treatment to your needs and goals for the future!
Whether you prefer to attend treatment in person or need virtual telehealth services, we can help! Centered Recovery has been providing meaningful, quality care to Georgia residents since 2017, and we have the most Google Reviews of any treatment provider in the state–all five stars!
If you have been considering a guided alcohol and drug rehab, or you have been struggling with mild mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression, overwhelming stress, or burnout issues, and would like to understand the difference that a mindfulness-based program can make, please give us a call at 800-556-2966 to speak to one of our Admissions Team counselors today!
Written by Sydney Christiansen, Clinical Intern
